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This invention relates generally to tool maintenance and performance and, more particularly, to methods and apparatus for evaluating tool performance and useful life.
Manufacturers typically track tool and equipment condition and useful life, to maintain tools in good operating condition and to repair or replace the tools without disrupting production schedules. Service and repair records are a primary information source from which to track tool condition. Service and repair records, however, provide only a limited picture, in that they typically describe an individual tool or piece of equipment at a single instant, i.e. the time of servicing. For example, punch and die equipment service records typically state amounts ground from, and heights remaining on, serviced punches and dies. Unless such information is placed in perspective, it is difficult to draw meaningful conclusions as to tool performance. It also is particularly difficult to analyze performance of tools and equipment in use over extended time periods in a plurality of manufacturing locations.
It would therefore be desirable to provide a method for tracking and analyzing the condition and useful life of tools and equipment over time and in a plurality of locations. It also would be desirable to provide a method for forecasting and forewarning as to upcoming needs for tool re-building or replacement.
In an exemplary embodiment, a computer-implemented method for evaluating tool performance includes maintaining tool history data in an electronic memory, updating the tool history data with tool servicing data, determining from the tool history and servicing data a predicted tool remaining useful life, and displaying the predicted useful life on a computer output device. Average tool data is compared to tool benchmark data to determine tool efficiency. Tool servicing, performance and efficiency data are maintained in a spreadsheet format. Data entered into one spreadsheet is used to update a plurality of spreadsheets. The spreadsheet format allows manufacturers to keep abreast of tool performance over time and in a plurality of locations and to anticipate tool rebuild and replacement requirements.